Masonry building construction



April 28, 1959 H. w. MIDBY MASONRY BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed March 26, 1956 April 28, 1959 Y H. w. MIDBY 5 MASONRY BUILDINGCONSTRUCTION Filed. March 26, 1956 a Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY April 28,1959 H. w. MIDBY MASONRY BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FiledMarch 26, 1956 INVENTOR Han-q W M q- ATTORNEY United States PatentMASONRY BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Harry W. Midby, Seward, Territory ofAlaska Application March 26, 1956, Serial No. 573,699

3 Claims. (Cl. 721) This invention relates to building construction, andit particularly relates to pre-formed, masonry construction.

Although there has been much recent activity in the construction ofpre-fabricated housing, such pre-fabricated construction has generallybeen confined to the use of wood, plywood and similar materials.However, when it was desired to build an all-masonry construction, itwas generally necessary to custom-build the building in the ageoldfashion.

It is one object of the present invention to provide prefabricatedmasonry building materials which can be easily used in setting upbuildings of various shaps, sizes and forms.

It is another object of the present invention to enable the constructionof pre-fabricated masonry buildings with all the strength andearthquake-proof qualities of a,

poured-in-place reinforced concrete building.

Another object of the present invention is to enable the construction ofa masonry building in a much shorter time than has heretofore beenpossible.

Another object of the present invention is to enable the building of amasonry construction without the employment of large numbers ofhigh-skilled and expensive labor.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a masonrystructure having both an interior and exterior prefinished surface thatrequires no additional plaster or stucco finish.

Another object of the present invention is to enable an easy and rapiddismantling of the building, when desired, in such manner that the majorportion of the materials are salvageable.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide an improvedbuilding construction, of the character described, that is easily andeconomically produced, which is sturdy in construction, and which ishighly eflicient in operation.

With the above and related objects in view, this invention consists inthe details of construction and combination of parts, as will be morefully understood from the following description, when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a house constructed in accordance withthe present invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary, perspective view, partially exploded, of acorner assembly embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2a is a fragmentary, top perspective view of a precast corner unitsuch as used in the assembly of Fig. 2.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view, similar to Fig. 2, but of atwo-story structure.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective edge view of pre-cast panels embodyingthe present invention.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, vertical, cross-sectional view of a portion ofthe foundation construction.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary, perspective, detailed construction showing afurring strip mounting.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on line 7--7 of Fig. 3.

2,883,852 Patented Apr. 28, 1959 ice I Referring now in greater detailto the drawings wherein similar reference characters refer to similarparts, there is shown a house, generally indicated at 10, which has beenconstructed of corner structures 12 and side panels 14 embodying thepresent invention. These corner structures, or corner panels, and sidepanels are braced by steel channel bars 16 at top and bottom. They arealso so constructed that openings are provided of proper size and shapeto form widoows 18 and door 20, as well as garage door 22. The roof 24is also formed of the prefabricated masonry materials of this invention.

The corner and side panels comprise molded concrete forms which arepre-cast in molds of sizes and configurations corresponding to the sizesand configurations of the particular parts of the building which theywill form. These molded building forms are made by pouring the concreteinto the mold in which is positioned a mesh-like matting arrangement ofreinforcing rods 26. As the concrete hardens in the mold, thereinforcing rods become embedded in the concrete.

The edges of the mold are shaped to provide shoulders adjacent the edgeso that the finished concrete form has edges provided with a reducedportion 28. This reduced portion is of a size and shape to fit withinsupporting channel bars 30 while the shoulders 32 defining the reducedportion is adapted to fit on the top edges of the side walls of thechannel bar. It will be noted that both the side walls of reducedportion 28 and of the channel bars are angled slightly to the verticalto complement each other. This provides a firm, bracing support for theconcrete forms.

The concrete forms are also molded to provide longitudinalsemi-cylindrical grooves 34 along their edges. These grooves areprovided so that when the forms are placed in edge-to-edge contact, thegrooves 34 of each abutting edgecoact to form a longitudinal cylindricalbore into which is adapted to fit a locking rod 36.

As illustrated, for example, in Fig. 2, the corner construction 12 isshown being connected to the foundation; this is by means of the lockingrods 36 which extend through proper openings in a top channel bar 38, ofangled channel construction, through the mating grooves 34 ofedge-abutting panels, and through proper openings in the bottom wall ofthe channel bar 30. A nut 42 is welded on the under-surface of thechannel bar 30, around each opening, so that the threaded ends 44 of therods 36 will be secured in place merely by rotating the rod at the top.The rods 36 are also threaded at their opposite ends 46 so that when infastening position, a nut 48 can be threaded thereon to lock them inplace. The ends 44 and 46 are preferably similar so that the rods can beturned in either end-to-end position when in use. This speeds up theassembly process because it is not necessary to take the time to seekout the proper end of the rod.

Before securing the concrete forms, either corner structures or sidepanels, in place, they are edge-treated with asphalt mastic or tar forwater-proofing purposes, as indicated at 50 in Fig. 5.

The base channel bar 30, which is set to grade and line with the utmostprecision, is provided on its under-surface with a series of anchor rods52. These anchor rods are formed of bent deformed bars, having asomewhat scarred surface as at 53 which hook into the footing 54. Thebars 52 are not aligned with each other but are positioned in laterallystaggered arrangement so that all lateral portions of the channel barare firmly anchored. The anchor rods or bars 52 are connected to theundersurface of the channel bar 30 by means of welds, indicated at 56 inFig 5.

After the base channel bar 30 is anchored in place, the space betweenthe channel bar and the footing 54 is filled in by pouring the floorslab 58 over a steel mesh matting 60; Before the floor slab is poured, amolded filler or expansion strip 62 is provided at the exterior surfaceof the inner side wall of the channel bar 40. The floor is 'then poureduntil it reaches the top level of the base'channel bar, as best shown inFig. 5.

After all the corner and side panels are in place between the upper andlower channel bars 38 and 30, with the panels locked in edge-to-edgeabutment by means of the locking rods 36, so that the Walls are inposition, if the building is to be of one-story construction, thecantilevered roof slab 24 is set on the upper channel bar 38.

The result is a simple and inexpensive, reinforced-concrete, fireproofbuilding which does not require any exterior coating or covering such asstucco to provide an acceptable appearance. By merely applying a coat ofmasonry paint, a beautiful, uniform surface is obtained.

If the interior wall surface is to be furred out for providinginsulation or a finished Wall appearance, furring nails, such asillustrated at 64 in Fig. 6, can be embedded in the concrete panel 14before it hardens in the mold. These nails are so arranged that theirpointed ends extend out from the surface of the panel while the oppositeends remain firmly embedded in the concrete. Wooden furring strips, suchas shown at 66, may then be permanently nailed to the concrete panels byhammering them onto the nails 64.

When the building is to be multi-story construction, bolt nuts 68 arewelded to the upper wall of the channel bar 38. These nuts are arrangedin laterally elf-set or staggered positions relative to each other toprovide a firm support, through bolts 70, for the channel bar 72 whichfaces in the opposite direction and acts to support the second story.

After the bolts 70 have been engaged in the nuts 68 their heads arewelded to the underside of channel bar 72, and a concrete flooring slab74, including a steel matting framework of crossed rods 76 is poured ina manner similar to that previously described in connection with floorslab 58.

When the channel bar 72 is in place, panels such as 82, similar to thosepreviously described at 14 are positioned in place between channel bar72 and next upper channel bar 84, in similar fashion to that previouslydescribed. This build-up of stories continues until the desired heightof the building is reached. The roof is provided on top of the upperstory.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, suchdescription is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting,since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of theinvention is to be determined as claimed.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, whatis claimed is:

1. A building construction assembly comprising a con crete base, a lowerchannel bar connected to said base, a first wall formation comprising aseries of edge-to-edge abutted panels mounted between said lower channelbar and a second channel bar, the flanges of said first and secondchannel bars extending toward each other and engaging the lower andupper edges, respectively, of said panels, said panels being ofpre-formed concrete and being connected by key-rods extending verticallythrough mating complementary edge-grooves on adjacent panels, saidsecond channel bar having a plurality of nuts, in staggered relationshipto each other, welded to the upper surface of the web, a concrete slabpositioned horizontally between said second channel bar and a verticallyspaced third channel bar, said third channel bar being in reversedposition relative to said second channel bar, bolts screwed into each ofsaid nuts and extending through said slab and into abutment with theundersurface of said third channel bar, the heads of said bolts beingsecured to said undersurface, said bolts supporting said third channelbar in spaced relation to said second channel bar, and a second seriesof 'edge-to-edge abutted concrete, pre-formed panels positioned betweensaid third channel bar and a fourth relatively reversed channel barforming a second story.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein a steel-webbed matting is embedded insaid base and in said concrete slab positioned between said 'second andthird channel bars.

3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the inner surfaces of the flanges ofeach channel bar flare slightly outwardly, the edges of said panelsengaged by said flanges being complementary thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS938,678 Macbeth Nov. 2, 1909 1,470,797 Baker Oct. 16, 1923 1,912,290Marks May 30, 1933 2,202,783 Morrell May 28, 1940 2,241,169 Yokes May 6,1941 2,414,628 Battin Jan. 21, 1947 2,466,106 Hoge Apr. 15, 19492,616,282 Vogel Nov. 4, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 482,595 Canada a Apr. 22,1952 OTHER REFERENCES American Builder, page 56, September 1943.

